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Following the release of new album 'Carrie & Lowell', Sufjan Stevens has announced details of his first UK and European shows in four years which also includes the End of the Road this September. as his only UK festival appearance.

Dates:

Fri 28 Aug Dublin - Helix
Sat 29 Aug Dublin - Helix
Sun 30 Aug Edinburgh - Playhouse
Mon 31 Aug Manchester - Apollo
Wed 02 Sep London - Royal Festival Hall
Thu 03 Sep London - Royal Festival Hall
Fri 04 Sep Brighton - Dome
Sat 05 Sep Salisbury - End of the Road Festival
Sun 06 Sep Bristol - Colston Hall

You can go to carrieandlowell.com for ticket links and information.

News

Newcomers Fossa have a beautiful sound which drifts into Grizzly Bear territory yet, still remain their particular vision on their debut EP Sea Of Skies.

Lead songwriter Louis Shadwick (vocals, guitar, keys) met guitarist Tom Dunning when he was only 14 and they quickly discovered they were on a musical wavelength, Tom's twin brother Will (bass, programming) brought the technical know-how that started Fossa’s use of electronic elements. Joseph Malpas (drums), who learned his trade playing in jazz and classical groups, met Tom whilst gigging at University, where the pair became close friends.

This is a band certainly worth looking out for in 2015. The "Sea Of Skies - EP" will be released on Limited Edition CD and Digital Download in the meantime it is available to pre-order on iTunes.

LIVE DATES

2 May LIVE AT LEEDS FESTIVAL

23 May LIVERPOOL SOUND CITY FESTIVAL (XFM’S Cargo Stage)

10 June THE LEXINGTON, LONDON (with Barbarossa)

The band are on facebook

News

Newcastle based newcomers Elephant Memoirs have released their debut single ‘Mug’.

Taking cues from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, the scene is set as the track starts with electrical static and feedback, before the guitar leads us into a thumping rhythmic pulse.

This is 4 1/2 minutes of solid rock ahead of their time in the studio to work on the next EP release, due later this year.

This is a three piece worth keeping an eye on, especially when they tour the new EP towards the end of the year.

More information can be found on the band’s facebook page.

Keith

 

News

Ex-Marillion frontman FISH has announced a run of UK headline shows in December where he will play Marillion’s 1985 chart-topping album Misplaced Childhood in full for the very last time, ahead of releasing his final-ever album next year.

The ‘Farewell To Childhood’ tour marks the 30th anniversary of Marillion’s career-defining, and multi-platinum selling third album.

Strangely, we were only playing this album a few days ago, for the first time in many years, so a show seems a must.

FAREWELL TO CHILDHOOD – UK DATES
 
August 14th – Cropredy Festival

September 12th – Midstock Festival 
 
December 3rd – Bristol, O2 Academy
December 4th – London, Islington Assembly Hall
December 5th – London, Islington Assembly Hall
December 7th – Cambridge, Junction
December 9th – Birmingham, Town Hall
December 10th – Sheffield, City Hall
December 11th – Manchester, Academy 2
December 13th – Glasgow, O2 ABC


 

Tickets for December shows priced £25 advance (subject to booking fees)

24 Hour ticket hotline – 0844 478 0898 or online here.  

Official Website for all the details 

News

The Mountain Goats release of their latest album on Merge Records today, 'Beat The Champ' is a collection of songs about professional wrestling.

“I wrote these songs to re-immerse myself in the blood and fire of the visions that spoke to me as a child, and to see what more there might be in them now that I’m grown,” John Darnielle says of the album's twelve songs.

The band will be heading to the UK this November for a show not to be missed whether you like wrestling or not.

UK  Dates:


Thursday 12th November - Leeds, Brudenell Social Club - BUY TICKETS
Friday 13th November - Glasgow, Art School - BUY TICKETS
Saturday 14th November - Dublin, Whelans - BUY TICKETS
Sunday 15th November - Manchester, Gorilla - BUY TICKETS
Tuesday 17th November - Bristol, Trinity - BUY TICKETS
Wednesday 18th November - Brighton, Komedia - BUY TICKETS
Thursday 19th November - London, O2 Shepherds Bush Empire - BUY TICKETS

 The Mountain Goats are John Darnielle, Jon Wurster, and Peter Hughes.

News

As a music fan, it’s difficult to complain about SXSW.  We have seen some brilliant shows over the years but as many of you know, the festival has changed a lot.  Over the last few years, there had been a dramatic influx of big corporate clients bringing some big bands with them. In itself, that was not a problem, but the volume of people coming into the city started to become unmanageable. Most were not there for SXSW but to be a part of what was happening, the place to be, and the place to be seen.

Austin had become the number one destination for Spring Breakers with its warm temperatures and a lot of free music shows that brings the crowd.  But as a SXSW attendee, it became a little tougher to justify the amount of money spent on the trip, the badge, etc when the city had become overrun.

Even the official showcases were being affected as bars were allowed to let anyone in eventually if they paid a minimal charge.  This meant packed venues with badge holders left outside because the bar had hit capacity by letting these non-badge holders in.

After the tragic accident last year, not caused by any corporate client or any SXSW showcase, but by a drunk driver, trying to escape a police pursuit, the Festival did some soul searching. The city had had enough and many bands, managers, and regular music fans had sent feedback saying it had gotten out of control.  From where I stood, as long as I could get to see my 60+ bands I was happy but it was certainly becoming more difficult to plan and to negotiate the city to get to the shows.

This year, the festival spoke much about making changes and while I still think there is room to improve, this year was fantastic. Those corporate clients are gone, and while I still think there are too many free shows, those shows that attract non SXSW attendee’s to come into the city, the value of my badge was clear from Day One. 

It was more organized and SXSW was bending over backward to make it as easy as possible for badge holders to get into shows.  Most night time showcases were restricted to badge and wristband holders. The bigger day parties like Spotify, House of Vans, Pitchfork, etc were prioritizing badges with little or no lines and parties like Fader Fort became badge and wristband only.

So it is back to being about the bands. If you work hard, there could be a payoff.  In the last few years, you could play 15 times and not get noticed because Coldplay of Kanye were getting all the headlines.  Hopefully it means we are back to discovery, back to surprises and all those reasons why we were going in the first place.

In the end, the most positive sign of how great SXSW 2015 was? It is the fact that every single person I know that went is already committing to SXSW 2016.  It’s been years since everyone returned to Toronto with that kind of excitement and passion for this festival.

I am glad, very very tired still…but very very happy. Have fun out there

Jim

Jim's Six day diary from Austin is HERE

 

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